


Journey to the End

by greeneggs101



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Blood and Violence, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-24 14:45:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17102558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greeneggs101/pseuds/greeneggs101
Summary: Prologue: Riku's been hearing the damn voice in his head foryears, a constant calling that has driven him to seek out the owner of said voice and smack him upside the head.Unfortunately for him, the owner of said voice has pretty blue eyes and a blinding smile.A sorta Gensomaden Saiyuki esque- AU of Kingdom Hearts. I'm taking elements from the Saiyuki manga and inserting Kingdom Hearts characters. Results may vary.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when you hear Riku utter the line "I heard him call my name," in DDD while also rereading the Saiyuki manga... 
> 
> I wrote this purely for my own amusement, but if someone gets even an iota of enjoyment out of this dumb crossover/AU thing, then it was worth posting. I thought it fitting to post today because a) it's my birthday. and b) This month marks a sort of 10th anniversary for me in the KH fandom. I was super into KH way back when before moving on to other things. But around that same time, my best friend got me into Saiyuki, and I distantly remember wondering what a fusion of the two would be like. So, late 20s me wrote the fic her late teen self wanted to see. 
> 
> So far I have a prologue and one "arc" completely written. I will mark the fic as complete after the first arc, butI might add on more later. 
> 
> For those who haven't read Saiyuki, this fic can be read without knowing much about it. But if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. It's a retelling of the "Saiyuki: Journey to the West" legend, but with a gun toting monk who likes to cuss, smoke, and drink, a young Monkey King Goku who will eat anything in sight, a half demon named Gojyo who flirts with anything, and Hakkai, the voice of reason in the group (usually). And of course they all have tragic backstories. It's a super interesting and still on going series that has been broken up into a few smaller series with their own arcs. I recommend the manga over the anime due to... interesting anime choices, but they're not terrible. The manga is also an interesting combination of genres, with the action, blood, and adventure of a shonen, but the character arc and development of a shojo, with quieter moments and drama.

When he was younger, the voice wasn’t as pressing. He heard it, but it was as distant as a passing thought or whisper of memory. 

 

Now though. Now it was constant. 

 

And annoying. 

 

Riku groaned as he ascended the overgrown path leading up the mountain side. 

 

This world’s people had not stepped foot on this island for more than five centuries and it showed. While the surrounding islands had little houses dotting the landscape and the nearby bays had boats and ships as far as the eye could see, this little island was completely untouched. Only the seagulls and the occasional lizard broke the absolute silence that permeated the landscape. 

 

Riku jerked as he felt another call radiate through his heart. 

 

Oh yeah. There was that too.

 

He huffed and leaned against a tree, rubbing at his heart. “Shut up, I’m coming, okay?” 

 

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hug the person making that heart wrenching call, or punch them for being so insistent about it. 

 

Probably both. 

 

Honestly, he couldn’t even think of anything else until he found the owner of this stupid constant voice. It was getting ridiculous. 

 

It had gotten worse the night he became a keyblade master. The night  _ his _ master...

 

Riku shook his head. He couldn’t think of Master Mickey right now. Not only was it not helpful, but the memory was still too fresh. He didn’t think of what Former Master Yen Sid thought of Riku leaving so soon after losing Mickey to the realm of darkness. But, he thought the old Master understood the calling in his heart. 

 

Plus, the old man probably didn’t want to deal with Riku’s attitude. 

 

Another sharp pain his his heart as another call came out, this one louder and more despondent than the others. 

 

“Shut up!” he muttered.

 

He turned for a moment to look back at at the sea. The little boat he had paddled over to this island was still safely waiting for him on the shore, but it was the only boat dotting the landscape. The people didn’t sail to this side of the archipelago of islands that made up the tiny world. It had been such a curious sight that he had asked the locals about.

 

_ “No one goes there!” A little boy had answered his questions, one tooth missing from his grinning face, “Mom says a monster lives there! Ready to devour anyone who comes near!” _

 

_ “I really wouldn’t recommend traveling there.” the boy’s mother had agreed, “It’s too dangerous.” _

 

Asking around even more, he learned that the area had been off limits since the development of the world. 

 

_ Around 500 years ago.  _

 

Riku thought it was rather ridiculous for a 500 year old ban to remain in effect. But the locals seemed eager to abide by it, the fisherman he had rented the boat from nearly refused to do so when Riku said where he was going. 

 

But this island was where the call was coming from, so to this island he traveled. 

 

Finally, the pathway leveled out. 

 

The energy he had been feeling while walking up the pathway was now positively radiating from the small cave at the top of the mountain. As he stepped closer, he began to see that bars had been formed at the entrance of the cave. Talismans covered the bars and the cave entrance, ancient talismans, in a language Riku couldn’t identify, though he felt that they had been put there to deter people from coming near.

 

Or to prevent something from getting out. 

 

He could feel the power from the talismans pushing at his heart, making him almost want to turn away and return to his boat. He supposed that would explain the local tradition. This kind of power would deter even the most hard hearted of people. Locals may have come up with the stories of beasts and monsters just to make sense of the ill feeling in their hearts that this sort of power caused. 

 

However, that power was completely overwhelmed by the calling his in heart. 

 

He stepped closer to the cage, squinting against the harsh sunlight to peer inside. After a moment, his eyes adjusted to the darkened interior.  

 

Curled up was a small figure, maybe just a few inches shorter than Riku, but it was hard to tell. Brown hair stuck up in all directions, and pale arms were wrapped around drawn up knees. 

 

“Hey,” Riku called up, stepping closer to the cage. There was no lock on the bars, just more of those talismans.

 

The figure looked up, blue eyes blank and glassy. Riku felt a twinge of pity at the sight and his fist clenched around his keyblade again. All the irritation he had felt towards the voice calling out to him vanished. 

 

“Quit calling me.”

 

The words he had practiced in his head seemed to ring hollow now. 

 

“Huh?” the voice was raspy with disuse, but a faint flicker of life began to shine in those eyes, bringing them to life. “I haven’t called anyone...”

 

“Don’t play dumb,” Riku stated, then sighing and holding out a hand, “I’m here now. So stop it.”

 

The figure stared blankly at the hand for a moment before reaching out. 

 

There was the sound of chains clanking. Blinking, Riku looked down and noticed the chains shackling the figure for the first time. 

 

Why would someone chain up a child?

 

The figure only paused for a moment at the sound of the chains before hurriedly reaching out and grasping Riku’s hand as if it would disappear.

 

The moment their fingers touched, the bars of the cage melted away, along with the chains. Riku took that moment to pull the person to their feet. Shaky legs held up a slight figure, baggy red shorts barely passing their knobby knees, but strong fingers gripped Riku’s hand tightly.  Now that they were eye to eye, Riku could see that the figure was not quite a child but a teenage boy, maybe about his own age. 

 

The boy took a few shaking steps out of the cage, his spiky brown hair brushing the top of his former prison. As soon as his eyes met the bright sunlight, he let out a small shocked noise and flinched. 

 

Riku noticed that their hands were still linked and he hurriedly pulled away. The boy glanced down at his hand, then back at the cage. 

 

After a long moment, he turned back to Riku. 

 

And he smiled. 

 

Riku felt his breath hitch a little at the radiance in that gaze. The blue eyes that had been glassy and dead when he first arrived were now bursting with life and staring at Riku with an adoration the silver haired boy was sure he didn’t deserve. 

 

“Thanks!” 

 

The boy’s voice was still rusty with disuse. 

 

Riku huffed, “Well... you're free now. So you can stop calling...”

 

The boy let out a startled laugh, “I... I really wasn’t calling anyone. Who would I call?”

 

“Huh?” 

 

Before Riku could ask what the boy meant, dark shadows began to creep along the treeline. Instantly, the silver haired boy went on alert, summoning his keyblade. “Keep quiet and get behind me,” he tried to push the boy away from the shadows as they began to grow from and substance. They matched the description of the creatures that Master Yen Sid had said was starting to invade the worlds. Some sort of denizens of darkness.

 

The heartless.

 

“Huh?” the boy looked around seeming to notice the shadows for the first time, “That’s new. Are they... not nice guys?”

 

Riku huffed, “You think?!” He swung his keyblade, neatly dispatching the heartless, but two more instantly took its place. 

 

Suddenly, he saw movement behind him, a brown blur of movement. Startled, Riku turned, nearly shouting at the young boy to get down.

 

Three shadows were instantly dispatched in a blur. 

 

Riku was shocked as the boy turned, a keyblade of his own in hand. 

 

A grin as the boy dispatched another heartless, “They’re bad guys right? So it’s okay to take them out?”

 

Riku shook his head out of his daze and nodded, “Uh, yeah.”

 

“Great!” the boy turned and took on a few more enemies, dispatching them with as much ease as Riku did. 

 

When the shadows had all dispersed, Riku turned back to the spiky haired boy. “Where did you learn to use the keyblade?”

 

The boy tilted his head and looked at the blade in his hand as if just realizing it was there. “Uh... I dunno. I just wanted to protect you, and it appeared in my hand.”

 

Riku blinked at the boys answer before letting out a groan. He didn’t have time for this. “Well... you’re free now. So... I guess you’ll need a ride back to the main island. Do you still have family there?”

 

“Huh? What’s an island?” the boy had tilted his head and looked around them.

 

“What are you, a stupid head or something?” Riku nearly shouted, turning in a huff and stalked down the same pathway he had climbed. “This whole world is made of islands.”

 

“Okay, but that still doesn’t explain what an island is!” The boy shouted, following him. “And my name’s not stupid head. It’s So--”

 

“I don’t care,” Riku groaned, “Stupid head fits. And you’re on an island. It’s land mass surrounded by the ocean.”

 

“Oh...” A beat of silence, “What’s an ocean?”

 

Riku huffed and looked back, “You can’t be that stupid. Were you really locked in that cage for 500 years?”

 

The boy tilted his head, “Um... How long is 500 years?” 

 

Riku blinked, not believing what he was hearing. The stories the islanders had stated started to come back. About the island being dangerous. And about a monster. 

 

He thought again of the talisman’s and chains that had kept the boy trapped. 

 

A loud growling sound nearly had Riku reaching for his keyblade again before he realized that the boy was hunched over, clutching his stomach. 

 

“You okay?”

 

“...I’m hungry...” 

 

Riku scoffed and began to fish around in his pockets for an energy bar or something. As he started to hand it over, he noticed the boy’s shoulders shaking, the ground under him becoming spotted with tear drops, “Hey... you can’t be that hungry...”

 

The boy looked up, a grin on his face despite the tears running down his cheeks. “I... I may not know how long 500 years is. But I was in that cage for a long, long time. I never felt hungry, or tired, or... or anything. But now...” he let out a weak chuckle. “I’m happy because I’m hungry. How dumb is that?”

 

Riku couldn’t help but let out a grin of his own, “Pretty dumb,” he passed over the energy bar.

 

The boy mumbled out a thanks before grabbing it, taking a large bite. “You know... you told me I had been calling you. I didn’t think I was, but maybe I had been. My heart was calling out for someone. I... I was so lonely.” He grinned as he finished off the bar, standing back up. “Then you came!”

 

Riku didn’t say anything, merely nodded in agreement. 

 

“What’s your name?” the boy grinned, “So that way, the next time I can call out your name instead.”

 

Riku wasn’t sure what to make of that statement. Did he want this boy to continue to call out to him?

 

Another quick glance at those ernest eyes and radiant grin gave him the answer.  _ Yes _ , yes he did.

 

“Riku,” the silver haired boy answered, “I’m Riku...” He then let out a teasing grin, “And you’re stupid head.”

 

Instantly, the boy growled in frustration, “Hey! I told you! That’s not my name. My name is Sora!”

 

“Nah... stupid head fits you better,” Riku began to walk down the pathway, listening as the boy continued to follow him. 

 

“No it doesn’t! I’m Sora!” the boy shouted, “S. O. R. A.”

 

“Well, at least you can spell...stupid head.”

 

“Aww, c’mon Riku! Don’t be so mean!’

 

The sound of his name coming from the boy gave Riku a jolt in the heart. It felt right. To have that boy call out his name. 

 

He turned back to where the boy was still huffing in frustration, though a grin threatened to spill over that angry face at any moment. “C’mon, Sora. I guess I’ll just have to take you with me.”

 


	2. Karma ~Part I~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fate has a mysterious way of bringing the people together who are destined to meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... in order to go with the Saiyuki type story, some characters might be a little OOC at first. Just remember that character backstories are vastly different than their Kingdom Hearts backstories. Trying to combine two vastly different genres is a bit difficult.

“Aww, c’mon Kairi! How come you always get the good tips?” a brunette whined. 

 

Kairi grinned, brushing back a lock of long red hair out of her eyes and pocketing the 500 munny tip the nice old man had given her. “I told you, Selphie. It’s all about confidence and attitude.”

 

“Yeah... and I’m sure that ample bosom has nothing to do with it...” Selphie sighed, glaring at the redhead’s chest. 

 

Kairi felt her cheeks heat up to the color of her hair and she glared back. “It’s not like I asked for them, you know.”

 

“Yeah... I know...” Selphie sighed again before picking herself up. “Oh well... I guess we can’t all be blessed with confidence and big boobs.”

 

“You’ve got your qualities. Everyone knows that they can get really lucky at the card tables if you serve them their beer!”

 

Selphie laughed and grabbed her order from the kitchen window, “True!”

 

Kairi smiled as her friend left before pulling out her tip again and recounting. Despite what Selphie led herself to believe, Kairi didn’t always get the best tips. But with this, she might actually be able to save some money for next months rent rather than living month to month. Maybe she could open a savings account.

 

_ Yeah, but what would I even save for? _ She thought to herself, before grabbing her own order from the window and going back out to the customers. 

 

The night passed by rather quickly after that and soon the waitresses were getting ready to leave, whining at the rain that was pouring down.  

 

“C’mon Kairi!” Selphie called, “We’re heading to the bar next door till the rain stops!”

 

“Really?” Kairi laughed, “You don’t get enough fun out of serving them?”

 

“Getting served is a lot more fun than serving,” one of the other waitresses, Ella, said, grinning as she leaned against the door frame. “Besides, I heard there were a lot of handsome men there.”

 

“Always looking for your prince charming,” Selphie teased. 

 

“Maybe...” Ella grinned. 

 

“Maybe if we all looked as unique as Kairi, we could get some,” another of the waitresses wondered. “She stands out, with that gorgeous red hair and purple eyes...”

 

Kairi stopped from where she was pulling on her jacket, before forcing out an easy smile and waving. “Maybe another time girls, I should head home.” 

 

She tried to ignore their stares as she left, but could still hear their whispers behind her. 

 

“You idiot! Kairi doesn’t like it when people mention her hair!” 

 

“What? Why?”

 

“Who knows,,,”

 

Kairi sighed, looking up at the clouds that were still pouring down rain. It’s really not something you should be envious over...

 

She supposed she should have been glad to find this town, where the stigma against someone with red hair and lavender eyes was practically non existent. Probably because no one here knew what it meant.

 

At least not yet. 

 

She knew it would only be a matter of time before someone found out. A stranger would roll through town and mention the legend. Hopefully she would be seen as nice enough to let stay, even if only at arms reach. At least... until a bad growing season hits... or the well dries up... or an epidemic runs through town. 

 

She couldn’t help but let out another long sigh. It had been nearly 5 years since she left home and within that time she has had to move 7 times. She forced herself to grow up, lie on job applications, get good at waitressing, live on her own.

 

But when she went home at night, it was to an empty, cold house. 

 

Same as always. 

 

She shook her head, berating herself for getting upset in the rain. She would only get colder sitting out here for long. 

 

She made her way up the steep path to her little rental house, squinting through the rain. 

 

A dark shape on the ground up ahead made her pause. Running closer she saw it was a body, a puddle of blood underneath it. 

 

“What...” This would be hard to explain to the authorities later. “Hey... Hey! You dead?!” As gently as she could she touched the body with her foot.

 

The body jerked and let out a small groan. 

 

“Oh... I guess not...”

 

Kairi leaned down, trying to figure how injured the guy was. His hair was matted, but Kairi thought it might have been red. Not the same shade of blood red as hers, but... 

 

More like fire.

 

“You gonna die or what?” Kairi huffed, still debating whether she had to get a coroner or a doctor. 

 

Coroner might be cheaper in the long run.

 

Suddenly, the guy moved his head, one bleary eye opening and looking up at her. 

 

Kairi felt her heart give a little stutter. 

 

Did... did he just smirk at her?

 

Kairi huffed. What, did he think she was just going to let him die here?

 

She realized then that she had been thinking about it and the realization filled her with shame. Is that really what this world was turning her into?

 

She groaned and thought back to that extra munny she got tonight. It would probably be enough to pay for a doctor, but if her patient died before she could get him, it would be pointless. 

 

She grabbed one of the guy’s arms, shifting his weight till he was more or less across her shoulders. The guy was almost too tall, but he was also light enough that it wasn’t much of a struggle to make it the rest of the way up the hill. 

 

“Stupid idiot. Not gonna die on me.”

 

\---

 

Life at Disney Castle was not all it was cracked up to be. 

 

For the most part, Sora didn’t mind it so much. He managed to fill his days running around doing chores for the castle residents, and at night Riku had set him up with a bed in the silver haired boy’s own room (They had tried separate rooms but after the 4th morning that Riku had found himself wrapped up in the brunet’s sleeping embrace due to nightmares, he figured he’d save the boy the trouble of breaking in by just keeping him nearby.) 

 

But despite all the interesting characters of Disney Castle, it was all just... so... boring. 

 

Especially when Riku was gone. Which was most of the time. 

 

He said that he was out completing missions, but Sora wasn’t sure what kind of missions would take days to complete. 

 

He was just finishing up helping the gardener, Clarabelle, trim the hedges when he heard the familiar bell signaling that the castle gates were opening. 

 

“Riku!” he shouted, nearly bouncing on his feet in eagerness.

 

“You go on, Sora,” Clarabelle sighed, “You’ve done enough help here...” she turned back to the bush Sora had so helpfully trimmed, though the brunet thought he may have gone a little overboard. The bush was now missing most of his leaves and branches. 

 

Oops...

 

He waved sheepishly and ran off, hurrying through the corridors and shouting apologies as he ran past the castle residents, causing many of them to trip or leap out of his way. 

 

He just couldn’t help his excitement though. Riku was back!

 

“Riku!” he nearly lept at the silver haired boy as soon as he saw him, wrapping arms around the older boy’s neck and squeezing tight. 

 

“Ack! Sora!” 

 

A fist landed in the brunet’s hair, and Sora lept back in shock. “Oww...”

 

Riku rubbed at his own neck, breathing heavily. “You were squeezing too tight again.”

 

“Oh...” Sora frowned. Sometimes he forgot his own strength. He never had anyone else to compare to. At least, not that he could remember. “Sorry.”

 

This time the fist that landed in his hair was much lighter, fingers spreading through the spikes and rubbing gently. “Just... be more careful...” Riku sighed and started to walk away, Sora hurrying to catch up. 

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“The room,” Riku said distractedly, “I have to get ready to leave...”

 

“Leave? But you just got back!” The brunet’s heart dropped in disappointment and he couldn’t resist letting out a sigh. “You’re never here...”

 

“Well, I’m busy!” Riku huffed. 

 

Sora slowed down, watching as Riku walked ahead before the silver haired boy seemed to realize that his brunet shadow was no longer with him. “What is it?”

 

“Take me with you!” Sora requested, running to catch up. “Please?”

 

“No way,” Riku immediately began to turn and keep walking. Sora quickly grabbed his wrist. 

 

“Please? C’mon! I promise I’ll be good and not get in your way, just...” Sora trailed off and looked away, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment. “Just don’t leave me alone again...”

 

He felt Riku’s eyes on him before a deep sigh left the chest of the keyblade master and he felt Riku tug his wrist away from Sora’s slackening grip.

 

“C’mon then. I can’t take you anywhere looking like that. Get cleaned up...” 

 

Sora looked up in surprise, but Riku was already heading down the corridor again. “Really! Hooray!” He quickly ran past Riku to the room, taking his shirt off as he went to head into the shower quicker. 

 

“Hey! I’m not taking you anywhere if you keep stripping in the middle of the hallway!”

 

\---

 

Lea opened his eyes with a grimace, blinking against the bright that seemed to shine right in his eyes. He closed them again, the blood red afterimage of the light burning into his eyes. 

 

“What the hell?” he gritted out trying to turn away, but a pain in his side prevented him from fully turning over. 

 

“Oh... Sorry!” There was a rustle, and the bright light vanished. “There... is that better?”

 

Lea blinked cautiously, and found the light levels at a more acceptable level. “Yeah...” This time he managed to glance around at his surroundings. Clutter and junk seemed to occupy ever space available, except for the surface he was lying on and piles of fabric littered the floor.  “Well... figures hell would be a dump...”

 

Hands immediately smacked the pillow on either side of his head and a face appeared in his line of vision, “Well, excuse me for being too busy saving your ass to keep the place clean!” 

 

Lea blinked in shock, turning to look as the figure retreated to the nearby table. It was a girl, or a young woman, maybe about his age. She turned on a lamp light, making sure that it wasn’t shining directly on Lea, though he still let out a small noise at the brightness.

 

“Can you groan a little quieter for a few more minutes?” She asked, turning to glare at him, “Not that I’m not glad you are actually alive, but I need to concentrate on this budget for a minute.”

 

“Uh... sure... sorry...” Lea studied the girl for a moment as she huffed and turned back to the papers on the table. 

 

In the dim light, her eyes had been a odd violet-red color, bordering on crimson, and her red hair shifted shades as she ran a hand through in in frustration. 

 

Blood...

 

Like the color that spilled across the cellar floor when Isa....

 

Lea shook himself out of those thoughts and instead stared blankly at the quilt covering him. 

 

Finally after just a minute the girl gave sharp cry and threw her chair back, the sound startling Lea from his thoughts. “Forget it, I can’t focus now!” She turned back to Lea, “You hungry? Thirsty?”

 

“Uh...”

 

“I should have asked when you woke up, but I’ve been trying to get these figures to match up for the past three hours...and honestly, you’ve been in and out of it for the past few days, I thought you’d just fall asleep again...” She let out a sigh and got up disappearing through a door that must have been a kitchen, her voice carrying through the thin walls. “I hope you like chicken broth. The doctor said you shouldn’t have anything heavier until your stomach heals...”

 

She returned, carrying a bowl and glass full of water. “I think you’re probably going to scar though. I kind of had to shove your guts back in there and stitch it up before I could get the doctor. I was afraid you’d bleed out otherwise.”

 

“Uh...” It was only when she mentioned it that Lea realized that his stomach was aching, but not nearly as much as it had.... How many night ago?

 

“How long have I...?” he trailed off, but she seemed to know what he was asking. 

 

“Well... I’m not sure how long you were walking around with a hole in your stomach, but you’ve been sleeping here for nearly a week...” She sat the bowl down on the nearby nightstand and helped Lea sit up. 

 

Despite her slight figure, Lea couldn’t help but notice that she was strong, easily pulling his practically limp body up and holding it until she could get the pillows situated. “Thank you,” Lea mumbled, reaching for the bowl and spoon as she passed it. It was a slow process, but he was able to feed himself. The girl pulled up a seat, crossing her legs. Her tight pink shorts rode up a little at the movement, and if Lea had been a different man, he might have salivated at the sight. 

 

“My name is Kairi,” the girl stated, a small smile gracing her lips. “Sorry for not introducing myself earlier, but you know... it’s kind of rude to insult someone’s home...”

 

“...Sorry...” Lea felt his cheeks heat up. “I was just... expecting something else...”

 

There was a moment of silence as Kairi seemed to study the pattern in the bedspread. “Do you regret it? Not being in Hell?”

 

Lea huffed, his spoonful of soup spilling back into the bowl. “Nah... I’m glad I’m still alive. There’s something I still need to do.”

 

Kairi offered up a grin, “Well... you might have to wait for a bit. You still got some healing to do...” She gave a wink, teasing him more than flirting with him, “Let it be known though, that you are the first and  _ last _ guy I’m ever going to bring into my bed, got that?”

 

Lea huffed out a laugh, “No worries, princess.” He put the bowl back on the nightstand. “I am sorry for taking your bed though. If I could move, I’d sleep on the floor...”

 

“Nah...” Kairi shook her head, “The couch is way more comfortable anyway. Besides, I work most nights, so I usually end up crashing on the couch as soon as I get home.”

 

“Uh huh...” Lea trailed off, not sure what to say. With his belly as full as it could be, he felt his eyes drifting closed. 

 

“You should get some more sleep. I’ll leave some more broth on the nightstand before I leave for work,” Kairi’s voice was soft as she moved away from the bed. 

 

_ She’s way too nice to be getting mixed up with my problems.  _ Lea felt his eyes grow heavy as he watched her exit the room.  _ Much too nice.   _

 

\---

 

Riku couldn’t believe the mission Yen Sid was sending him on. Shouldn’t the Radiant Garden authorities be handling this?

  
“Where are we going anyway, Riku? Huh? Huh?!”

 

And then there was that chattering. Sora hadn’t let up since they left Disney Castle in the gummiship. Riku let out a sigh before rapping his knuckles sharply against the brunet’s hand. 

 

“Ow!” Sora complained, rubbing his head, “What was that for?”

 

Riku huffed but didn’t answer. 

 

“C’mon, Riku!” Sora whined. He hurried a little ahead (and out of the range of Riku’s knuckles), turning to walk backwards and stare at Riku with his big blue eyes. 

 

Riku could never resist that look for long.

 

“Fine...” Riku stopped and leaned against a nearby fountain, taking a drink of water from his water bottle. 

 

Sora followed his example and took a rest as well. 

 

“Master Yen Sid gave me a mission to bring in a murderer named Lea...”

 

He heard Sora give a soft gasp, “Murderer? That’s bad right? That means who ever we’re after killed people?”

 

“Yeah...”

 

“Sound’s dangerous...”

 

Riku felt Sora’s concerned stare, “What?”

 

“Why is Master Yen Sid sending you after this guy? It sounds like a problem for this world’s criminal system. You keep saying the reason I can’t go on missions is cause you’re afraid I’ll meddle with the world order...” Sora let out a little huff, “Unless that’ was just an excuse to keep me there...”

 

Riku felt another urge to wack Sora upside the head again, but he repressed it, instead wrapping an arm around his...companion? Friend?’s shoulders. “Don’t be a stupid head... And yeah, I’m worried about the world order. It’s the first thing my master taught me about. But... Master Yen Sid said that this case was different.... But he wouldn’t say why...”

 

Sora let out another huff before straightening up and putting a smile on his face. “So we’ll just grab this guy and take him back with us, right?”

 

“You got it...” Now if only they knew where to look. 

 

The townspeople had heard about the murders in the castle, but no one could place the name Lea, nor name his location. Finally, it was starting to get dark out when even Sora’s cries for food were echoed by Riku’s growling stomach. 

 

They stopped in at a restaurant on the edge of the town. Sora ordered half the menu, though he did offer Riku a bite or two of whatever the brunet thought was the most delicious. Riku wondered how he could taste anything since Sora practically inhaled his food. 

 

“Hey, where’s Kairi at?” on of the waitresses called out, distracting Riku from where he had been waiting for Sora to finish eating.

 

“She had to take a few days off...” their server called back, smiling at Sora as he eagerly asked for a dessert menu. She handed it off quickly before turning back to her coworker. As they went towards the kitchen, he just caught the tail end of their conversation. “She said she had to take care of someone...”

 

“Oh... a relative?”

 

“Not sure,” the waitress shrugged, her shoulders nearly touching the tail ends of her brown bobbed hair. “I think so , though? When I went over to drop off the medicine like she asked, all I saw of him was this spiky red hair and green eyes... Not quite the same shade of red as Kairi’s though...This was more the color of a sunset...”

 

Riku jerked to attention. Sunset red hair and green eyes. It sounded like the description Master Yen Sid had given to him. 

 

“Huh? Riku, what’s up?” Sora paused in his perusal of the dessert menu when he noticed Riku standing up from the table. 

 

“Sorry, Sora. Dessert’s gonna have to wait.” Quickly he hurried to the back, catching the attention of their waitress, “Excuse me miss! Could you tell me more about the man your friend is taking care of?”

 

“Aww... why ask about her when you can spend time with me, sugar?” a different waitress asked. 

 

Riku resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead smiled benignly. “Please, it’s a matter of her safety...”

 

“Is she in danger?” their waitress asked quickly. 

 

“I’m not sure, but it’s important I find her and her patient right away.”

 

The waitress quickly wrote out a set of directions, and Riku was sure to tip her well. Both for the information and having to deal with Sora’s mountain of dishes afterwards. 


	3. Karma ~Part II~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fate has a mysterious way of bringing the people together who are destined to meet.

“Seriously, again?!” Kairi groaned and slid her chips over to the redhead in her bed, who was laughing at her. “C’mon...” she sighed and began to shuffle the deck again, “I play against some of the pros at work sometimes and I’ve never lost this badly. One of our usuals, Luxord, even said I had a good chance of playing in the tournament next month.” Not that she would, the entry fee alone would bankrupt her, but she thought that she was fairly decent at poker.

 

Until now, at least. 

 

“I can’t help it...” her injured patient coughed lightly, though his complexion was looking better than it had in weeks. “I’ve always had a knack at these things.”

 

“Uh huh...” Kairi sighed, dealing out the cards. “This time I’ll win for sure!”

 

“If you say so...”

 

They played until Kairi’s watch chimed, reminding her get her patient his medicine. 

 

“Is it that time already?” the taller redhead smiled, “Let me see if I can get up and get it myself this time.” 

 

Kairi quickly picked up the cards, watching warily as her patient got up off the bed and stood, his legs only shaking a bit before he could start walking. 

 

He had been making a remarkable quick recovering, and Kairi had an inkling as to why. But despite their numerous rounds of poker, mahjong, and go fish, he still had not revealed his name. 

 

He made his way slowly, but surely to the kitchen, growing more confident with every step. 

 

“Soon I can get my bed back, right?” She called out as she heard him rustling in the bag for his medicine. 

 

“I thought you liked the couch?” he called back, before stepping back into the small bedroom to grab his water glass. He winked at her in jest before knocking the pills back, taking a quick swig of water afterwards. 

 

“Yeah.... that’s starting to give me a crick in the neck...” she rubbed at her neck in protest, sticking out her tongue when the man snickered. 

 

“In any case,” the man started, taking a seat on the bed, “I need to thank you. For letting me stay here while I healed. And in that entire time, you haven’t asked what I was doing out in the rain to begin with...”

 

“Well... it’s none of my business...” Kairi mumbled, taking a sip from her own water glass. 

 

“Why did you save me?” he asked. 

 

Kairi thought about it, “I dunno... right thing to do I guess. Besides,” she looked up at him, “When I saw you lying down there... I did contemplate just grabbing a coroner... or maybe a priest to bury you. But then you looked up at me and smirked. Like you wanted to die. I guess...” she couldn’t help but let out a weak chuckle, “I guess that just made me so angry that I wanted you to live instead...” She couldn’t really explain her actions. While she tried to be genuinely nice to everyone she meets, she wasn’t the type of person to take in strangers, dying or otherwise. But... for some reason, this man being so okay with dying had pissed her off so much she didn’t have a choice but to make the bastard live. 

 

The man’s laugh startled her out of her thoughts. “Well... I’m glad you did.... Though I suppose I owe you some explanation...” he ran a thin finger over the rim of his glass, causing it to sound out a sharp whistle, “You see... I come from a small town few miles from here... My best friend, Isa, and I, we shared a house together. It was small, and rather shabby.... But it was our home. We both never had any parents, nor wanted them. All we had was each other.

 

“One day, I came home from working my day job at the gummiship store. The house had been completely ransacked, and Isa was gone. I learned quickly from the villagers that they had turned him over to the Organization here in town.”

 

“The Organization?” Kairi whispered. She had heard about them, but only in whispers when the older men were too drunk to be scared. The Organization was a group of mysterious people who worked at the castle. Rumor was that they often spent their hours experimenting on humans, creating some kind of demon in their wake. Strange sentient shadows had been seen around town ever since the Organization took up residence.

 

The man nodded, “Apparently, some men in black coats had come into town, demanding a young man for their experiments. The other villagers... they didn’t even try to fight back, just rolled over and let them take Isa. When I demanded to know why Isa.... they said that it made more sense to lose a penniless orphan than one of their own sons.

 

“I had promised Isa I would take care of him, so I followed them here, then to the castle. And... a little over a month ago, I killed all of them.”

 

Kairi gasped, looking quickly up at the man, who was staring at his own hands as if in shock.

 

“Honestly, I wish I could say that it hadn’t been me who done it. That I had temporarily lost my mind. But the rage was real, I wanted to make them pay for taking Isa away.”

 

Kairi hesitated for only a moment before she reached out, taking the man’s hand and gripping tightly. “Did you find him?”

 

“Yeah...” the man’s voice was quiet, and suddenly Kairi dreaded hearing the end of the story. “He was in one of the cells in the basement... I called out to him, as I tried to find some sort of key to unlock the door, but he wouldn’t answer me. Instead he walked calmly to the door, and took the knife out of my hand. Then... he just said two words, ‘I’m sorry,’ before he plunged the knife into his own chest.”

 

“Oh... I’m so sorry...”

 

“Yeah...” he huffed. 

 

Kairi felt a hot wet teardrop land on the hand that was still gripping the other redhead’s. Quickly, with her freehand, she reached over to the nightstand to pull out a tissue, handing it over and looking away so the man could compose himself if needed. 

 

“I don’t remember much after that, but I must have run into some survivors who gutted me on the way out. I don’t think I left them alive either though...” the man’s voice was steady now, though he didn’t move his hand away from Kairi’s tight grip. “You know... I guess I have another reason to thank you as well... your hair and eyes... the color of blood. I thought you were sent as a penance for my actions. So I would never forget the blood on my hands.”

 

Kairi gasped and glanced over to where she could see a lock of her own hair in the corner of her vision. So someone else saw it too then? The crimson blood in her hair. 

 

“I thought... before I left, you should know my name. Someone should remember me, even if no one else will...” The man took a deep breath, “It’s L--”

 

A sharp knock at the door cut him off. Startled, Kairi pulled her hand away.

 

Another sharp knock, more insistent than the last had her running towards the door. “Yes, yes, I’m coming.”

 

Quickly she opened it. 

 

Against the backdrop of night was a young man with pale silver hair that practically glowed in the moonlight. His features could have been called pretty if his mouth wasn’t set in such a deep scowl. 

 

“Are you Kairi?”

 

“...whose asking?” Kairi questioned back. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her patient hovering at the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. 

 

“My name is Master Riku of the Keyblade Guardians and Protectors of the Books of Prophecy,” He gave a slight bow before straightening up, seemingly taller than he had been just a moment before. “I’ve been sent by Master Yen Sid to locate and apprehend a dangerous criminal by the name of Lea.”

 

Kairi resisted the urge to glance back at the redhead still hovering inside the doorway and instead kept her focus on the silver haired man in front of her. “Sorry... never heard of him.”

 

“Hmph,” the man scoffed and quickly put a hand on the door, preventing her from closing it. “Don’t play dumb. Word around town is that you’ve been playing nursemaid to a man that matches Lea’s description.”

 

“Take your hands off my door!” she gritted out, pushing hard against the hand holding her door open. “You don’t look like Radiant Garden Police, so you can kindly go fuck off.”

 

“Dirty word for a young lady,” the young man smirked. 

 

“Oh fuck off,” Kairi immediately slammed her knee into the man’s stomach, causing him to stumble off of her porch. Quickly, Kairi grabbed the bat and the pepper spray she kept by the door in case of intruders. Stepping outside, she pulled the door closed behind her, hoping her patient would have sense enough to keep his head down. 

 

The silver haired boy rolled, quickly recovering from her sneak attack, and called forth some sort of blade. “I won’t ask again. Where is the criminal, Lea?”

 

“Told you, never heard that name before in my life!” Kairi shouted back, swinging her bat. She winced as it struck her opponent’s blade, a shockwave of pain traveling up her arm and into her elbow. She threw down the wasp spray and gripped the bat with both hands. “Just leave me alone before I call the cops.”

 

“I’m sure they’ll be plenty interested to know why you’ve been harboring a murderer in your home,” the silver haired man retorted, going in for a hit of his own. 

 

Kairi barely managed to block it, and the shockwave sent her back several feet, her head hitting the side of her house rather hard and she let out a startled shriek. 

 

She glared at her opponent, who seemed just the tiniest bit shocked and confused for a moment before hardening his glare and raising his blade again. 

 

“Wait!” 

 

Light from the house spilled out as the male redhead opened the door and rushed into the front lawn. “C’mon, Kairi. You know I aint worth this.”

 

“Are you Lea?” the silver haired man asked, shifting his focus. 

 

“Yes... I am...” Lea glared at the silver haired man, “Leave Kairi alone, she didn’t have anything to do with me or my crimes. She was just kind enough to patch me up so I can finish up my job. All I need is a little more time.”

 

“Sorry... my orders are to bring you in now...” the silver haired man lept at Lea, but Kairi quickly blocked his path, swinging her bat hard enough to knock the other’s blade out of his hand. Using the silver haired boy’s momentum against him, Kairi quickly tackled him to the ground, grabbing an arm and twisting it behind his back, tripping him so he landed on the ground. Kairi quickly placed a knee at his back so he was pinned. Who knew wrestling the restaurant’s handsy and belligerent drunkards would come in handy? 

 

Of course, this Master Riku was not drunk and so had much more coordination than her usual opponents. She wouldn’t be able to hold him for long and she turned to Lea, “Run!” she shouted. “Go on! Run!” 

 

Lea hesitated for only a second before taking off. 

 

“Dammit!” the silver haired boy beneath her gritted out, before trying to jerk out her hold again. She dug her elbow into his spine, buying Lea a few more seconds. The silver haired boy instead focused his attention on the trees. “Sora!”

 

Huh? 

 

Kairi barely caught a glimpse of the brown and red blur that jumped out of the trees before it managed block off Lea’s exit. 

 

It was another boy about her age, with brown spiky hair and the bluest eyes Kairi had ever seen. 

 

“Brought in reinforcements, did you?” Kairi huffed out, still struggling to hold her captive down. 

 

In the corner of her eyes, she saw the brunet lunge at Lea, who managed to block just in time. 

 

The silver haired boy beneath her seemed to freeze in shock. Ahh... so Lea’s own speed was unexpected. 

 

“Riku...” the brunet began in an excited voice, “Riku! This guy might be kinda good!”

 

“Don’t look so happy about it, stupid head,..” Riku grumbled, seeming to give up trying to free himself and instead glaring at the brunet in exasperation. 

 

“Okay!” the brunet laughed and stretched his arms, “I’ll get serious then.” He quickly summoned his own blade, launching into a series of attacks that were too quick for Kairi to see clearly. All she noticed was that Lea seemed to be managing to dodge every one.

 

But a quick kick to the ribs sent him flying. 

 

“Take that!!” the brunet shouted, eagerly going in for another attack before freezing so suddenly, Kairi thought he might have turned to stone. 

 

Blinking she saw that Lea was holding the can of pepper spray that Kairi had discarded earlier, a lighter in his other hand flicked open. Even in the bright moonlight, the tiny orange flame was bright enough to garner everyone’s attention. 

 

“Hey... no fair...” the bruent mumbled, but remaining as frozen as possible, seemingly knowing the deadly consequences should he choose to attack. 

 

“Please...” Lea reiterated, “Just a little time...”

 

With that, Lea turned and fled. Thankfully, the brunet did not give chase. 

 

“Could you please remove your knee from my back?” the man beneath her huffed. 

 

“You promise not to go after him?”

 

“For now...” the man sunk into the grass, seemingly trying to hide his face, “This has already been fucked up enough without being bested by a girl with a bat...”

 

“Hey, Riku! You look kind of funny down there!” The brunet walked over to where Kairi was still pressing the man’s face into the dirt, more than a little reluctant to let go. 

 

“Shut up, stupid head!” 

 

“I’m not the one face down in the dirt...” the brunet grinned, his eyes twinkling with laughter and Kairi felt her heart speed up while her cheeks flushed. He turned that charming grin on her, “Hey! Can you let him up? I promise we’ll give your friend at least an half hour head start... besides, I’m hungry. You got anything to eat?”

 

“Uh...sure?” Finally, Kairi got off of the silver haired man who sprung to his feet with as much dignity as he could muster. 

 

“You literally just ate,” the man stated, brushing the dirt off of his clothes.

 

“Yeah, but you didn’t let me have dessert!” the brunet was nearly bouncing off the ground. 

 

“Are you a bottomless pit?” Kairi wondered aloud. 

 

“No!!” The brunet whined, apparently not getting the joke, “I’m a Sora!”

 

“...right...” Kairi sighed then turned back to the door. “I’ll feed you, but you gotta tell me why you guys are after Lea... besides the whole murder thing.”

 

“Hooray!” The brunet eagerly ran past her, opening the door and just hovering inside, barely having the patience to resist running straight to her kitchen.  

 

She heard the silver haired man... Riku, she remembered... walking behind her. 

 

The story unfolded over ice cream, Sora nearly clearing her out of her stash while she had managed to eat a small bowl of it. 

 

“So... he really did manage to wipe out the entire Organization?” Kairi wondered, “He doesn’t really seem the type...” She sighed and pushed her now empty bowl away.

 

“He wasn’t really fighting back, Riku!” Sora added, already digging into his third bowl of ice cream. “He was definitely just trying to escape! He didn’t seem like a bad guy!”

 

“Who knows why people do things...” Riku sighed, fiddling with the pencils Kairi left out on the kitchen table, “Whether he’s the type to do something like that or not is not important. He did it, end of story, now we need to bring him in to face the consequences.”

 

“Yeah but...Why you guys?” Kairi’s voice rose, even as she got up to put her bowl in the sink, “I thought the Keyblade Guardians were meant to keep the peace and stay out of the business in other people’s worlds. You should leave this to the Radiant Garden Police, not come barging in like some sort of vigilante!”

 

“You think I want to be here, princess?” Riku’s eyes glared at her, but there was a sense of lofty boredom behind it. 

 

They glared at each other for a moment before Sora’s voice pierced the tension. 

 

“Hey, this is really good! You got anymore?”

 

Kairi turned her glare on him, “You trying to eat me out of house and home? You already ate three bowls of it.”

 

“He hadn’t eaten in 500 years. His body is still making up for it.” Riku’s voice was flat, not a hint of sarcasm or joking behind it. 

 

“What?” Kairi was baffled, “There’s no way--” She shook her head, she was getting off the subject, “Never mind that. You avoided my question. Why are you guys here?!”

 

“Master Yen Sid had been keeping an eye on the Organization for some time. He has not given the reason to me as to why.” Riku fiddled with the end of a pencil again, twirling it through his fingers. 

 

“Well... if the rumors are true, maybe those Organization members deserved it,” Kairi stated, remembering Lea’s story. 

 

“Probably, but it’s not my place, nor Lea’s, to judge that,” Riku sighed, pushing away the pencil he had been twirling. “Of course there are some people out there who might deserve to die. But if we take it upon ourselves to dole out that judgement, we must, in turn, be prepared to have the same done to us. Karma, you know?” 

 

Kairi huffed, but the words made sense. “He said... he said my hair and eyes were like a penance, that they reminded him of the blood he spilt” she glared at the silver haired man, “You’re a Keyblade Master right? Surely you know of the legend of what red hair and lavender eyes mean.”

 

“A child born of both pure light and pitch darkness, always caught between the two. A child who would only bring misfortune.” Riku’s tone held the flatness of reciting something long memorized. “So what? Not all legends are true.”

 

“I’m just saying, if there is someone out there who could also see the blood in my hair..." she trailed off, fighting against the memories that threatened to overwhelm her. Red stains on the floor, mixing in with her own hair that had been ripped out of her head. A frightened girl nearly identical to her, her blue eyes wide as she held a hand over her mouth. And between them, a dead woman Kairi had loved so much. She shook her head. Those memories were useless here. "Well...I would hate to see them get killed by someone like you!”

 

Riku scoffed and stood up, “And just when I was thinking that you were smarter than the stupid head over there.” He ignored Sora’s protest and instead turned his gaze up to meet Kairi’s, “But at least he knows that blood isn’t the only red thing in the worlds.” 

 

“Of course not!” Sora smiled at them both, not catching on to the tension, “There’s apples and sunsets and the balloons at Disney Castle... oh and my pants!” he pointed to his cargo shorts and Kairi couldn’t help but let out a laugh of disbelief. 

 

Riku turned to the brunet, and Kairi was shocked to see a slightly fond smile grow on the sullen face. “Right...” 

 

Then he pushed his chair in and grabbed the jacket he had taken off, “Well.... Sorry for bothering you. But I was given a mission and I will see it through to the end,” Riku started towards the door and motioned towards his friend, “C’mon stupid head, we’re leaving.”

 

“Mm, kay...” Sora grinned at her, “Thank you for the ice cream!”

 

They were just nearing the door when Kairi came to a decision. Grabbing her sweater off the back of the chair, she swung it around her shoulders and quickly thrust her arms through the sleeves. “Wait! I’m coming with you!”

 

\---

 

Sora glanced back to where the girl was still trailing them, “Hey Riku? She’s still there...” 

 

“Shut up, and keep walking. What the princess does is her own business,” Riku muttered, walking faster. 

 

Sora sighed and nodded, “Okay...” He glanced back again, but the girl was still following them. “Hey Riku? Where are we going?”

 

“I’ve got a haunch as to what Lea wanted to do... so we’re headed back to the castle,” Riku stated, his eyes focused on the road ahead. 

 

“Why would he go there?”

 

Riku stayed quiet on that, merely grunted in response. Sora sighed again. 

 

Lea didn’t seem like that bad of a guy. A little confused and sad, sure, but not the sort of bad that showed up in the comic books Riku had given him after returning from one of his missions. 

 

“C’mon you sleepy head! We’re gonna lose your keeper!” Kairi ruffled Sora’s hair as she passed, and Sora hurried to catch up. 

 

“So... what are you going to do with him once you catch him?” the redhead asked as they caught up with Riku. 

 

“Why do you ask?”

 

“Well... I put in a lot of time and effort to get him healthy again. I’m not sure how the Keyblade Guardians do things, but I’d hate for him to just die after all that.”

 

“You seem to know a lot about the Guardians...” Riku stated, glancing back at the redhead.

 

Sora sighed. Avoiding answers by misdirection was Riku’s favorite way to get out of answering something. 

 

“Well... you hear stories you know...” Kairi stuck out her tongue, “And you avoided my question again.”

 

Sora giggled, “She’s onto you Riku~!” He ignored Riku’s pull on his hair, instead laughing harder. 

 

“It’s not up to me. Lea’s punishment will be decided by Master Yen Sid. And that’s all I know,” Riku sighed, glaring at both Sora and Kairi. 

 

Sora shuddered at the thought, thinking that a one on one talk with Riku’s boss would be enough to deter anyone from crime. The brunet had only met the man once, but that was one time too many. 

 

Suddenly, a scent on the breeze caught his attention. Pausing, he took a deeper breath. 

 

“Sora?” he heard Riku asked, and Sora shook his head. 

 

“I smell blood...” Sora took another deep breath, trying to trace it. “It... it’s coming from...” finally he was able to narrow it down. “There!” Sora took off running, not bothering to see if Riku and Kairi could catch up. He quickly scurried up a drainpipe onto the roof of a nearby building, hopping from roof to chimney until he could find the source of the scent. 

 

The scent got thicker as he drew near until he was on the roof just above where two men were talking. One had bright red hair, definitely Lea, the other had long dark hair and carried some sort of spear. Sora kept watch behind the ledge of the building, wondering if he should wait for Riku. 

 

“Was it really worth all that?” the long haired man was saying, gripping his weapon tight. Now that Sora was closer, he could see that Lea was leaning against the wall, cradling an arm to his chest and blood dripping to the concrete below. 

 

“Was it really worth killing all of us? Now...I’ve heard rumors that you’re one of us...”

 

Sora heard Lea give a snort of derision, “Shut up with that crap. What the hell do you want...”

 

“An eye of an eye of course!” the man laughed, pointed to something bloody on the ground between them. Sora held back a gag, _ was that an eyeball?! _  “Since it seems my friend is not getting this one back.”

 

Lea huffed out a laugh, “Just an eye and you’ll go away? Fine then, not like it’s worth anything.”

 

The redhead began to reach towards his own eye, evidently intent on scratching it out and Sora took that as his cue to leap from the building. 

 

“Hey!” He landed on Lea, sending them both to the ground. “Your eye! Is it--?”

 

Lea groaned, but blinked open a red and severely swollen, but thankfully still intact eye. Sora let out a sigh of relief. 

 

“Thank goodness! That was really stupid! You’ve got pretty eyes! Of course they’re worth something, they’re yours!” Sora huffed, shaking the redhead for good measure. 

 

“You know... for someone who likes to play with fire, you’ve got a pretty dim view of the world,” Riku’s voice came from around the corner, and when Sora turned to look he saw his friend and Kairi round the corner. “I’ve heard that you think red is the color of penance. Penance to who? You are the only one who can make amends. And you gotta be alive to do it.”

 

“What are you?! His friends?!”

 

Sora turned around and focused his glare at the long haired man. The brunet nearly forgot he was there. 

 

“Nah...” Kairi answered, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, “You wanna kill him, go ahead and try. But.... some I heard from some bitchy keyblade master that if you kill, you have to expect to have the same done to you. Karma and all...” 

 

The long haired man growled and picked up his lance again. “I don’t buy it. You wanna protect him, I’ll just have to kill all of you!” 

 

Sora flinched as the man charged, his lance aimed right for him and Lea. Suddenly, his vision tilted as he was pushed out of the way of the sharp point. A loud crash reverberated through the air and when Sora turned around, he saw Lea glaring up at the man. 

 

Either the lance had missed it’s mark, or Lea had dodged just in time. The lighter from earlier was held out, the pepper spray just behind it. 

 

“Back off.” Lea’s voice was quiet, but Sora could hear the threat behind it. 

 

The man just growled and leaned in closer. When he couldn’t get his lance free, he reached for Lea’s throat instead. 

 

Lea pressed the button on the pepper spray. 

 

The man shot back as flames engulfed his hair, leaving his lance behind. With barely any effort, Lea pulled the lance free and threw it. It pierced the man right through the chest. 

 

Sora watched in shock as the man seemed to disintegrate. 

 

Suddenly there was a weight on Sora and he squealed in surprise. “Ack!” He turned to the spiky haired man who had collapsed on him. “Hey! You okay?”

 

“Yeah... just... reopened my wounds...” Lea huffed out a small chuckle and Sora couldn’t help but grin in return. 

 

“Seriously?!” Kairi shouted, running over to help Lea regain his footing. “And after all that work...”

 

“Sorry...” Lea seemed to be unable to stop laughing though. 

 

“Well then... I guess we should be on our way then...” Riku sighed, brushing past them. 

 

“Uh... Riku?” Sora rubbed the back of his head, “The gummiship is the other way...”

 

“Well...” Riku turned back to Lea, “You’re going right? Back to the castle? You said you had to do something.”

 

Lea blinked before letting out a shaky grin, “Yeah... yeah I did...”

 

\--

 

Lea wasn’t sure why Riku was letting him finish his self appointed mission, but he decided not to question it. He had heard what Kairi had called Riku... a Keyblade Master... Lea had only heard of such people in fairy tales. Also called Guardians of Light, they protected their books of prophecy with their lives and often only showed up when things seemed at their most dire. They were warriors, bringing good and peace wherever they went. 

 

Lea rather thought that the only thing Riku brought with him was arrogance and attitude. But whatever... 

 

With Kairi and Sora’s help, Lea managed to limp his way up to the castle grounds. 

 

They got there just as the sun was starting to rise, and with the break of day, Lea felt all his hopes shatter. 

 

The castle laid in ruins. 

 

“Must have been a fire...” Riku remarked, gazing at the smoldering ruins. “Maybe a day or two ago...Likely nothing survived.”

 

“Right...” Lea huffed and collapsed, “I couldn’t... I couldn’t save him again... couldn’t even bury him...” He hung his head. 

 

He felt a presence beside him, and saw Sora. He watched as the younger boy began to push some of the ashes together in a small pile. Then he glanced around before apparently finding what he was looking for, reaching over with one hand and pulling something from the ground. 

 

“Riku showed me how to do this,” The boy murmured quietly, just for Lea to hear. “A long time ago... a bird died. And I couldn’t reach it to bury it... I was sad for a long time... After Riku found me, I had a nightmare about the bird. So Riku showed me that we could make a little memorial for it. To give it closure.” He placed a bundle of flowered weeds on top of the pile. 

 

Lea huffed, feeling a stray tear make its way down his cheek. “Yeah? Smart friend you got there then...”

 

“Hmm... I think he is,” Sora grinned at him. 

 

“Hey... you Guardians always carry that book around,” he heard Kairi whisper behind him, presumably to Riku, “Isn’t there something in there you can say for a moment like this.”

 

“I’m a keyblade master not a preacher,” Riku grumbled, “And it’s a book of prophecies, not a scripture.” 

 

“Well... say something anyway.”

 

There was a grunt of pain, and Lea just barely resisted chuckling, sure that Kairi had just elbowed Riku. He knew from experience that those things were painful. 

 

“Fine...” Riku grumbled. 

 

There was a rustling noise, like someone digging through a backpack, before Riku’s voice began to ring out in the cold dawn air. 

 

Lea glanced over at Sora and saw him with his eyes closed, a small smile on his face. Lea grinned and closed his eyes as well. 

 

The words didn’t really matter, just the voice they were said in. It was calming and strong and seemed to encourage the dawn to come faster after a night of never ending darkness. 

 

Only then did Lea realize why Riku was named a Guardian of Light. 

 

\---

 

“What do you mean, dead?!”

 

Kairi’s voice was shrill in his ear, and just not what he wanted to hear this morning. 

 

“Just what I said,” Riku muttered, hoping that the ringing in his ears would go away soon, “Lea the murderer is dead. I’m sorry if that is too big of a concept for princess to understand.”

 

“Listen you--”

 

Riku braced himself for the punch, knowing he deserved it. He always let his mouth run without thinking. 

 

Master Mickey would be so disappointed in him. 

 

Well... if Master Mickey was around, that is. 

 

Belatedly, Riku realized that the blow never came. He glanced down, realizing that Sora had quelled Kairi’s anger with a gentle hand on her wrist. 

 

“C’mon Kairi...” Sora whispered, “It’s not like Riku had a choice. He was doing his job.”

 

Kairi growled, but eventually relented. “Yeah.... I suppose... I just... wish it didn’t have to end like that.” She then turned to Sora, a large, but fake, smile on her face. “I suppose, in memoriam, we can put lessons aside today.”

 

“Yay.” Even Sora’s own usual optimism was dimmed today. 

 

That bothered Riku more than he let show. Instead, he turned away from them, afraid that if he looked at their unhappy faces any longer, he’d say something he’d regret. 

 

Lea  _ was _ dead. That was fact. Nothing he could do to change it. 

 

“Are you settling into your room okay, Kairi?” He asked instead, hoping to draw the conversation back to, if not happier, then slightly less mellow things. 

 

“Huh?” Kairi blinked at the change in conversation, “Oh... yeah. Not sure what to do with all the space though, it’s way bigger than my last place.”

 

Long before they had caught up with Lea in the forest, Riku was already formulating plans to ask Kairi to accompany them back to Disney Castle. Sora seemed to respect her, so she might make a good teacher for Sora on the things younger kids were taught, like reading and writing, both areas of which Sora desperately needed help. (Riku didn’t have the patience to be a teacher, which only made him wonder even more why Mickey had named him Master.) 

 

Kairi had also shown herself adept at holding her own in a fight, which would make her a suitable backup to protect the queen if needed. 

 

And, if Riku was being totally honest, he may have found her somewhat... charming. Someone who could possibly be his friend. 

 

If he was in to that sort of thing. 

 

Which he was  _ not _ . 

 

“Riku!” Sora called, grinning, “Kairi and I are going to go to the market to pick up a snack! Come with us?”

 

“No way,” Riku grumbled. He had way too much work to do, with paperwork for Yen Sid, some chores for the Queen. Not to mention he still had to do his daily training, and review the supplies for future missions and--

 

A hand entangled itself with his own and a small thin arm wrapped itself around his shoulders. Blinking, he realized that Sora had grabbed his hand and was grinning up at him, while Kairi had wrapped herself around him, offering her own small smile. 

 

“C’mon, Starshine!” Kairi laughed, poking his cheek with a grin. “You can’t stay focused on your work forever. You gotta take a break every once in a while.” 

 

“Yeah!” Sora agreed, squeezing his hand. “C”mon. Please?”

 

“Tch...” Riku scoffed, slapping Kairi’s hand away from his face, “Fine. But only because I don’t want to hear you two complain.” 

 

“Yay!” 

 

Together, the three of them made their way to the market in town, the stalls already bustling with the residents of Disney Town gathering their grocery needs. 

 

“Riku! Look!” Sora dragged him over to one stall. “Mister Scrooge is selling a new flavor of ice cream!” 

 

Riku sighed and nodded. He wasn’t a huge fan of the icy stuff, but he could appreciate the way Sora’s face lit up whenever he ate it. 

 

He paid for two bars, not sure where Kairi got lost at, and let Sora have one. He had just taken a bit of his own ice cream when a fist landed in his face, knocking the ice cream out of his hand. 

 

Riku blinked, surprised and a bit miffed when he noticed that it was Kairi on the other end of that fist. 

 

Bit of a delayed reaction to his insult earlier...

 

But then he noticed the taller figure standing next to her. 

 

Oh....

 

“What the hell, Riku?!” Kairi shouted, grabbing his shirt so he hand to bend down to her level. “You said he was dead.”

 

Riku glared up at the taller redhaired figure whose green eyes were looking at him with way too much amusement. “I see you found us.”

 

“Yeah... Yen Sid’s directions were pretty easy, and the gummiship flew like a charm.”

 

“Stop deflecting my questions!” Kairi shouted before pushing Riku away in frustration. 

 

“Technically, you never asked a question.” Riku brushed dirt off his jacket. “Though, if you want me to explain his presence, I thought it’d be obvious. Master Yen Sid and I are Guardians of Light. Execution is a bit on the Dark Side. I just said Lea was dead. Not my fault your princess brain took that as an implication he was killed.”

 

“What the hell else is it supposed to mean?!”

 

Kairi was practically foaming at the mouth, and the silver haired boy found it a little amusing to watch. Then he glanced over and saw Sora shaking his head in disappointment.

 

Ahh... Riku had probably gone to far... 

 

“Look... I just meant...” He tried to get out but the taller figure spoke up first. 

 

“What he means is that I was allowed to discard the name Lea and start my life anew,” the taller redhead explained, laying a hand on Kairi’s shoulder and effectively calming her down, “Lea died in a more... metaphorical sense than a literal one. The person formerly known as Lea died so I could have a second chance.”

 

“Does that mean your name’s not Lea anymore?” Sora sked. 

 

“Nope!”

 

“Oh... okay then,” Sora offered up a large grin, “Hi! I’m Sora! What’s your name?”

 

The taller redhead blinked, then let out a loud laugh. “It’s Axel. Got it memorized?” He gestured towards his head as he said it, as if that would make it easier for Sora to understand. 

 

“Axel...” Sora tested the name out, looking up at the sky as he did so. “Axel...Yeah!” He grinned, “I like it!” 

 

Kairi glared at Riku a moment longer before running up to the ice cream stall Riku and Sora had just visited. “Three ice creams please! And he--” she pointed at Riku, “--will be paying.”

 

Riku huffed but obligingly pulled out his munny. “Sorry for not telling you sooner. I was under orders--”

 

“Yeah, yeah...” Kairi huffed, then passed him one of the ice creams she had just ordered. “Just... try not to keep secrets from Sora okay?” She continued quietly, “You didn’t see his face when he saw Axel... he was more disappointed that you had misled him as well...” 

 

“Hmm...” Riku took a bite of ice cream while mulling over what she said. “I suppose I can try...”

 

“Good...” She grinned and ran over to Axel and Sora, “Say, how about we go pick up lunch here as well and head over to the park for a picnic.”

 

‘Yeah!” Sora cheered, raising his ice cream in celebration, “I know the best place for meat buns and rice!” 

 

“And vegetables,” Kairi added sternly, to which Sora rather reluctantly agreed to. 

 

“You coming, Riku?” Axel aske around a mouthful of ice cream. 

 

Riku thought again of the mountain of paperwork that waited for him back at the castle. 

 

“What the hell...” he muttered then set off to join them, “As long as I’m not paying.”

 

“The rest of us don’t have any munny...” Kairi teased. 

 

“Dammit...” 

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for any grammatical errors. It's late and I'm exhausted but I also wanted to get this out. hope you enjoyed it!


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